The Legend of Zelda: The Seven Crystals
by Joe Bobbo
Summary: When an unknown evil tries to conquer the land of Hyrule, it's Link's very destiny to try to save it. Allied with new adventurers, he must explore the lands to ensure that life as he knows it isn’t destroyed, and more importantly, that Zelda lives.


**The Legend of Zelda: The Seven Crystals**

_Disclaimer:_ I do not own, nor claim to own "The Legend of Zelda", nor any persons, places, or events that belong within the series. If I did own them, then I wouldn't have to waste my time writing petty disclaimers that no one reads anyways. The only things I claim to own are the plot, no matter how small it may be, and the initial writing of this Fan Fiction. There will be original characters along the way, which I will provide a proper claimer within the chapter in which they appear, because I don't want to reveal the "plot" at such an early point in the story. .

**WARNING:** Rated PG-13 for mild language, strong violence, a very little romance, and brief nudity in forthcoming chapters. (In lament's terms; Do not read unless you can handle slight cussing, detailed gore, a little kissing, and very little non-detailed nudity.) The witty comments in the author's notes may be too immature for children under thirteen to read. And now for something completely different!

Prologue: "There she goes again."

Within the ever-so-peaceful land of Hyrule, a youthful figure idled with his back against a tree located on the outskirts of the majestic Kokirian Woods. A soft wind rustled throughout the land, causing the grass and the leaves to dance in relaxed harmony as it passed through. The youth's blond hair eagerly swayed smoothly from underneath of a standard Kokirian cover, which along with the complete set of clothing would look abnormal to any Hylian. Like the rest of the Kokirian's suits, two seas of green and white covered his body, with specks of dark brown. The Kokirian hat, with its' back end drifting down to the youth's upper-back, rested atop of his shoulder-length hair. From his collar to his mid-thigh a green tonic rested atop of a white long-sleeved shirt, with cuffs running into standard brown archery gloves. His pants, as white as his shirt, entered smoothly into brown riding boots that came up to slightly under his knees. His ever-searching blue eyes scanned the light blue sky above him, staring idly at the insects buzzing around their daily routine.

To this youth, this was an awkwardly peaceful day, nature seeming almost as it did when it was first created. However, peace is defined differently to this youth, seeing as his adventures have took him farther than any other Hylian could even begin dream about. To the land of Hyrule, he was greatly known as a respectable figure for the beyond honorable valor he put forth, saving the world on many occasions. To many, he was known as the legendary Hero of Time, and to the few that actually knew him, he was simply the known as Link. In his recent years of adventures, he sought after a person whose name still strikes fear into the hearts of people, and slaughtered him to end his evil reign of terror. However, it has been two years since Ganon has fallen, and since then the land of Hyrule once again tried to restore the sense of peace that they once had.

Link let out a soft sigh, as he closed his eyes to relax them, for the day felt perfect for an afternoon nap. He started to shift around his body weight around to try to make himself a bit more comfortable against the tree; he couldn't just simply let this day go to waste. After a few minutes, just as the undeniable curse of drowsiness came upon him, the formerly gentle breeze kicked up slightly, as heavy rustling sounds emitted from the branches of the trees. Thinking nothing at it at first, he shifted himself once more, too stubborn to want to wake up just yet; after all, it was just breeze. He yawned indiscreetly, and growled at the same time, so desperately wanting to make this day go to good use. Without warning, the sound of thunder rolled through the land, echoing off of any surface that entered its' path. Considering the day was clear-blue just mere minutes ago, Link considered that the likelihood of the weather changing was near to none, as he opened his eyes out of pure curiosity. When he opened them, his eyes did not see the sight that he closed them to; instead he saw a rippling black cloud above the land, though it was not the normal mundane clouds that brought rain to the clouds. The clouds had a very certain energy to them, as if the dead souls were helplessly being floating in them. As Link stared into the clouds, he could have sworn something was looking back at him, as if he was staring in Ganon's eyes once again, as if the clouds were made of pure evil.

Link quickly lowered his hands to the ground on either side of him, pushing himself up to stand on his feet, specks of dirt falling from behind him. His eyes scanned quickly down against the ground, watching as various insects burrowed themselves into the safety of the dirt. If only he could do the same, but seeing as evil always seemed to find him, no matter where he goes, it would be done in vain. Suddenly a realization came over him, often times than not he wasn't the goal of every evil presence. He quickly muttered a few inaudible curses, followed by the clear flow of his voice, "Ah fuck. Zelda…"

Link looked back up to the sky once again, but the black clouds were gone, and the day was returned to its' previously peace. Strange things have happened to the land before, but none as strange as this. But this was no time to think of the past, as he knew the future would be dead if he didn't move fast enough. He suddenly pushed himself forward, as he entered into a full-out sprint, headed directly towards the Hyrule Castle, where the Princess Zelda should be residing at on this day. All he had was hope that she was still alive and well, enjoying the once-peaceful day, but he knew all too well that just hopes didn't rescue Zelda in previous situations.

While Link was in sprint, he reached up his left hand to grab the blue-hilted sword that was slung over his shoulder, resting in a blue and gold decorated scabbard against his back. He leaned forward slightly, as he pulled forward with his hand, the shiny silver blade of the sword unrevealing itself from its natural home. The blade was soon fully out of its scabbard, as Link carried the hilt in his hand, swinging it back and forth at his side as he ran. From past experiences Link knew to keep his sword drawn, for every time that unrest was abroad, unnatural things took shape. Remains of dead warriors often rose from their slumbers, and lost spirits aimlessly wondered the land. Luckily, Link's view did not capture any signs of either happening, but he remained alert.

Link's constant sprinting speed was maintained, regardless of what minor obstacles came in his way. His path was one straight line through the fields of Hyrule, heading towards the castle. His eyes watched the ground carefully as he ran, mainly to try to avoid the minor obstacles that may have the intention of tripping him, but also to check if there were any possible likely-hoods of something popping out of the ground. However, that is one problem when evil is about; nothing is said too soon, because anything is likely to happen. Link's luck just went to dry as he saw the sudden shifting of the dirt in front of him.

Link suddenly stopped and jumped backwards, watching as decayed skeleton bones crawled up from the dirt. Not even three seconds had passed until an entire skeleton of a warrior who died in battles long ago stood before Link. He stared into the eyes of the Stalchild, or at least what used to be his eyes, for now nothing but empty sockets was left, except for the vile maggots which would crawl from one hole to the next, carrying on with their daily lives. Dangling around the Stalchild's bones, decayed skin hung by thin strands of muscles that were not depleted as of yet.

The Stalchild looked straight into Link's eyes with its hollow sockets, as it groaned as if it was still in pain. It brought up its hands to its side, as if it was searching to find something to use to bring revenge from its death, but the only thing around that it found was a loose rib bone. With very little effort, the Stalchild pulled off the bone, as it stumbled forward as if it was a drunken fool, taking wild swings at Link. If it wasn't for Link's great agility, several would have hit him, and with such force the Stalchild was putting behind each swing, would have caused him great damage if it hit him. Once Link got a chance to do a counter-attack, he did so, as he brought up his right hand to the Stalchild's chest, pushing against its ribs, bones crackling and screaming as he did so.

The Stalchild stumbled backwards from the push, as it looked around dazed and confused. Before the mass of useless bones decided to attack again, Link made good use of the time to bring his sword across to its right shoulder, swinging down and across, the blade slicing straight through the Stalchild's torso. Within an instant, both of its bony forearms collapsed to the ground. The Stalchild looked down at its arms, which were still squirming aimlessly, however it did not have much time to look at them, because soon after its spine cracked in half, and the skeleton's upper torso cracked and fell to the ground. And as soon as it appeared, the remains of the bones turned into gray dust, seeping into the soil in which it sprouted.

Link knew too well to put his sword back into its scabbard, as he kept it drawn by his side. He cracked his neck from side to side to get rid of minor aches, as he started in the sprint again towards Castle Town. Though the journey was not long, the gray wall started to rise in the distance. As he drew nearer, the distant gray walls became the definite aging walls of those of Castle Town's outer perimeter. A moat filled of fresh water circulated the walls, its beautiful serene movement reflecting some images of the few clouds in the sky.

Within the walls, a village and a castle resided, where most people usually wandered about through their every day's routine. A minor uneasiness came over him as he stepped onto the drawbridge that allowed the travelers to cross the moat with ease. He paid no more attentions to his surroundings, but he still remained alert, in case another mishap should occur. Within every step, a small squeaking sound was emitted from under his feet, considering the drawbridge was old, and needed to have its wood structure replaced. Within moments Link was no longer standing on the outside looking upon the walls, but instead the walls surrounded him, as now he was within the walls of Castle Town.

When Link entered within the town, he felt more like he walked into a graveyard. A few of the normal people walked about to do their daily routines, but most of all people had vanished, as if they went into their own houses for the rest of the day. But those people who were on the street did not look like the regular people who sit around all day and converse about recent events, but they were the people in a hurry, headed back to hibernate within their own houses for the rest of the day. The town was so empty that the Cuccos had even seemed to retreat into the packed stables. At least, that's what Link could hope that happened. On a day like this, with events like these, nothing was a certainty.

Link continued through the town with a fast pace, with full intentions to getting into the castle the quickest he could. When he reached the walls of the castle, there were no guards to meet him, nor were any there to throw him out upon sight. It seemed as even the mighty guards of Hyrule Castle even went to vanish within thin air. He simply pushed the doors upon, walking into the main hall of the castle. A strange uneasiness came upon him, there was definitely something disturbing in this place; something he knew he didn't want to meet, but he knew he couldn't avoid it.

Link walked softly as he crept through the deserted corridors of the castle, heading toward the room in which the Princess often spent her day. As he approached the door, he started to slow down a bit; mainly to reduce the sound made, but also to give himself time to consider what he was about to do. The unknown waited behind the door, and when facing evil, the unknown isn't exactly the best of allies. He debated this with himself while he crept closer to the doors, stopping in front of it for a few seconds. But Link knew that Hyrule's fate would be resting into this decision, as he pushed himself in cautiously, sword raised over his shoulder, ready to be used, if needed.

When Link's eyes came to scan the room, he did see Zelda laying on her bed – but she wasn't alone in the room. Hovering over her was a figure familiar, though unique in its own very way. Link could recognize the look of evil, he had several years of experience to practice, but unlike most of his opponents, this one seemed as if it had no pure shape. This figure appeared to be solid shadow, pure evil within a mist, with no define shape to it, but instead it floated in uniformed patterns, escaping mist only moving out no more than in inch before being sucked back into the void. It appeared to not have a face, or hands, or feet, or any other parts that would adjoin them. The only thing that could be defined for something was something that appeared to be a head and torso. The figure appeared as if it didn't notice Link's arrival, and he planned on making that fact no longer existent.

"Get the hell away from the Princess, now!" Link demanded as he revealed himself to the figure.

The shadowed figure hissed to threaten, to attempt to scare off Link. The shadow's non-existing mouth opened to speak, and words came out; and as if a thousand voices spoke to him, he could hear a single monotonic tone in all of them, "Who dares to interrupt the bidding of the Master?"

Link stood there, as he let out a slight growl, bringing his sword into a position ready to attack, "I will not repeat myself again! Get away from her," he demanded in a strong tone.

The shadowed figure laughed a laugh of a thousand voices, "Who are you to tell me what to do?"

Link growled again, "I shall be your slayer if you don't move away from Princess Zelda, right now!"

"You foolish boy. What sort of idea do you have that you can damage me? Be gone!" A shadowy arm appeared from out of the smoke-like figure, a hand opening from the end of it, its palm faced towards Link. Before Link could even blink, dark-purple colored ball of energy flew out of the figure's hand. Without knowing what to do, he tried to whack away the ball with his left hand. The impact of the energy ball was so great that Link lost control of his sword, as it went flying off to the distance, and his archery gloves spilt in two, peeling off of his skin to fall to the ground.

Link immediately brought his right hand to his left, to rub away the pain that was caused by the energy. The figure laughed some more, "Smart one, you are. Any normal person wouldn't have had enough time to block that attack. I'll give it to you, boy; you have some courage in you. I can see it now, as soon as you get feeling back into your hand, you're going to pick up your sword, and try to kill me. Let me save you some time. Before you can even pick it up, I'll have what I'm searching for. What the girl has will be mine."

Link blinked and moved his right hand from his left, as he smiled softly, "What makes you think that? I—"the figure cut him out as it hissed.

"Yes! You hold the symbol of the Triforce on your hand! The Crystal of Courage... Yes... have found the two most valuable ones within the same place. Servant of the Master, this world isn't meant for your kind. The Crystal of Hope is now ours, and your world is now fading. Beware, Servant, the Master comes for you next." The figure reached down to cradle the unconscious Zelda, holding her close to it as possible. Link quickly moved over to grab his sword, but by the time he looked back up, the figure was gone, and Zelda was missing with it.

Link growled again and punched a pillar to relieve his anger. But something the figure said was not right. Link's mind started to drift into thoughts: 'The Crystal of Courage and the Crystal of Hope? So the stories were true. The Seven Crystals do exist. The turn of events are making a slight amount more sense, even though it shouldn't be so.'

Long ago Link had heard the Legend of the Seven Crystals, but to him, and all other Kokirian's who happened to listen on, it was no more than a folk's tale. After all, he had lived in the Kokirian Woods at that time and in his youth; and he was more concerned about fitting in more than anything else. Saria had often told the story the group of kids who had happened to sit around her tree stump while she told the words so smoothly, repeating it as a mother would a bedtime story to her child.

He remembered her exact words as she spoke them; "Long ago while Hyrule was still at its youth, the three Goddesses created the Triforce to balance life. However, the Triforce alone could not contain enough strength to keep the world at peace. The Triforce then formed seven crystals, each with its own balance for life. These seven crystals were then spread across the land of Hyrule, granting seven people from Hyrule with a certain power. Who has the Crystals, you may ask? We don't know, it could be anyone, anywhere. No one even knows they have the Crystal until the Crystal chooses to reveal itself to the owner. Who knows, a Crystal may be in someone in this room." She would say as she smiled with her eyes scanning the room, but every time her eyes caught him in its path, she would flirtatiously wink at him. She would giggle innocently before carrying on, "Courage, Wisdom, and Power are the three most powerful ones. Who ever possesses those Crystals wears the symbol of the Triforce on their left hand. The other four, their attributes were Life, Peace, Love, and Hope. The seven powers that hold the land together."

Upon farther comfort with Kokirians, Link actually got to talk more in depth with Saria about the subject. "Saria, I have a question about those Seven Crystals you were talking about..."

Saria looked up from carving an oval-shaped of a piece of wood in an orderly fashion, "Sure, ask me anything."

Link cleared his throat slyly, "What happens if one of the holders of the Crystal dies?"

Saria shrugged as if she had all ready told him the answer a hundred times before, "Each Crystal sort of survives on each other, even if the carrier died, the Crystal will still have its power. All it is a matter of time before the Triforce scans the hearts of the people of Hyrule, and judges them to see if they're able to contain the power. Some times the Triforce chooses the carrier to be someone in the middle of their life, or sometimes it chooses people who are yet to be born. It's all a matter of time. The energy from the other six Crystals keeps the dead one alive until it finds a new carrier, the energy barely enough to keep the attribute alive to make the world function. And, with all the energy given out, it can power the Triforce better, so it can find a new carrier easier."

Link stared at her with curiosity, wanting to learn every bit he could, "What if two of the carriers die at the same time?"

"Simple," Saria declared, "The other five will do the same thing with powering the dead Crystals, yet the power is weaker, and might require more time for the Triforce to find a new carrier. The Triforce is wise, even if all but one Crystal was dead, it would only take maximum of four days for all of them to be restored. And well... If all seven are destroyed at the same time, I don't know what would happen, but I assume it wouldn't be too good for the world."

Link shook his head side to side, to get himself from out of the memory, reality striking him again. If every second that his power helps restore the other Crystals to bring balance to life, then it's every second that he can't afford to lose, especially if he was the last Crystal alive. He headed out of Zelda's bedroom, out of the countless corridors of the Hyrule Castle, through the not-so-crowded streets of Castletown, and to Hyrule field once again. He just had to follow his instincts on where to go, because he for sure didn't know. This is the same very instinct that will determine if Link is once again destined to save Hyrule, or if he will fail, and be the ultimate doom to the land…


End file.
